The Daniel DifferenceSample

Daniel’s Progression from Faithful to Fruitful

We have learned that Daniel made prayer a daily priority. He was incredibly faithful to follow through on that decision. Daniel's life was a great testimony of the ways that God blesses the faithfulness of His people.

As we begin looking at Daniel's blessings, let's take a moment to list some of the blessings that are not spoken of in the biblical account. Nowhere does it indicate that Daniel had a family. Daniel never has the opportunity to live as a free man – he is always a servant to one king or another. Daniel never returns to his beloved homeland of Israel. These are some of the ways Daniel may have preferred to be blessed, but he was not deterred when God chose to bless him differently.

Daniel was blessed with great wisdom

Read Daniel 1:19-20; Daniel 2:14; Daniel 5:11-12

Daniel's wisdom is evident throughout this book. It permeates each royal conversation. It is clear in his actions and reactions. It can be seen in the fact that Daniel was an advisor to four different kings. It even shows up in the way that Daniel tells his own story. He does not show false humility by denying or diminishing the gift God has given him, but he gives God all the credit. 

Daniel was also blessed with incredible courage

Read Daniel 1:8-16

This story actually shows both Daniel's courage and his wisdom. It is remarkable that this young prisoner had the presence of mind to recognize the danger of giving in to the expectations of the Babylonian culture. He was brave enough to respectfully confront his captors with a reasonable plan. Daniel's courage was also on display in Chapters 4 and 5, where he had to confront two different violent and unpredictable kings with bad news. And there is the well-known story in chapter 6 about Daniel's refusal to give in to pressure to stop praying to his God, even when his life was threatened – and his miraculous rescue from the lion's den. 

Daniel's life was challenging. For Daniel to survive and even prosper in his circumstances, he needed a great deal of both wisdom and courage. And he got plenty of both as he faithfully went to the Lord his God in prayer each and every day, three times a day. 

Could you use some wisdom in your life? Do your circumstances require more courage than you feel in your heart today? Does Daniel's example give you any ideas about how it might be possible to obtain these blessings?

Check out this video where Christian music superstars, The Newsboys, discuss the fruits of faithful prayer -https://youtu.be/vwyUPoZ33-0